Home > Is Breitbart trying to have it both ways with this “alt-right” candidate?

Is Breitbart trying to have it both ways with this “alt-right” candidate?

It is unclear whether Team Bannon actually disavowed congressional candidate Paul Nehlen for his anti-Semitism and ties to the “alt-right,” or if it considers his extremism “hysterical rubbish”

As conservative commentators scrutinize congressional candidate Paul Nehlen’s explicit anti-Semitic messages and ties to the “alt-right,” Breitbart.com, which had put its full support behind Nehlen, is appearing to disavow Nehlen’s extremism while also continuing to give him a platform.

In an attempt to advance its nationalistic war against all things establishment, Breitbart went all-in for Nehlen -- a little-known candidate who had no chance of winning -- in a 2016 primary election, launching its quixotic crusade to unseat Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI). Predictably, and despite Breitbart’s full-throated support (up until the election, the outlet published close to 30 pieces of content[1] shilling for him), Nehlen lost to Ryan by a 85 to 15 percent margin[2]. Not discouraged by his loss, Nehlen continued to raise his profile with a prolific social media[3]presence[4] and, most importantly, Breitbart’s support. Breitbart’s Executive Chairman Steve Bannon hosted him on his radio show[5] a week after his embarrassing loss, treating him “like a hero” and literally professing his love for him.

Despite the reported shock of his loyal supporter, Nehlen’s anti-Semitism was anything but sudden. His ties to white nationalism and the “alt-right” had been explicitly displayed in his digital fingerprints, as reported[15] by HuffPost and Salon[16]. His attacks on Cohn were not his first display of anti-Semitism, nor were they out of the ordinary given his habit of aggressively responding to his critics using compelling arguments[17] such as “eat a bullet” or “self deport.” Nehlen had also promoted a 4chan meme with ties to the “alt-right,”[18] as well as embraced[19] “Groyper,” a known “alt-right” mascot[20]. He has never shied away[21] from being “all in on the AltRight (sic) vote.” After stumping for Roy Moore, Breitbart’s chosen (and defeated[22]) candidate in the Alabama senatorial special election, Nehlen appeared[23] on the “white power podcast Fash the Nation” and used an anti-Semitic expression[24], talking about “people who want to throw their parentheses at you,” a clear allusion to the “alt-right” echo meme. Currently, he’s responding to his critics from the right with the type of trolling[25] that is typical of message board posters, crudely comparing[26] outcries to “autistic screeching” (a meme[27] often used to signal enjoyment from triggering those deemed oversensitive).

Meanwhile, the Cardillo tweet[14] remains the only (even second-hand) evidence that Breitbart is at all bothered by the explicit extremism of their chosen candidate. And in response to the HuffPost article[15] that compiled evidence of Nehlen’s ties to white supremacy, Breitbart editor and Team Bannon member Raheem Kassam dismissively tweeted[28] that it was “hysterical rubbish:”

In fact, Breitbart has continued giving Nehlen a platform. As recently[29] as December 18, Nehlen made a guest appearance[30] on the Breitbart radio show Whatever It Takes with Curt Schilling. If what Cardillo tweeted is true, it shows that Breitbart is trying to have it both ways -- appease conservative critics with a vague reported condemnation of Nehlen’s bigotry, without issuing a full-throated disavowal that could cause them to lose the Gab “alt-right” audience[31]. This audience loves[32] Nehlen, proving once again what's become more than evident this year: Breitbart is OK with playing footsie with Nazis[33].

UPDATE: CNN reported[34] that an adviser of Steve Bannon, Arthur Schwartz, said "Nehlen is dead to us" in response to Nehlen's increasingly offensive tweets.